Fire-door.



M. W. HARRIS.

FIRE DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1913.

1, 1 02,047. Patented June 30, 1914-,

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

rH/ -c1 gwuwtoz ME, Harms COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON D. c.

M. W. HARRIS.

FIRE DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1913.

1,1Q2 O47 Patented June 30, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

20 E! q T 10 H ?7 144-) 0'2? fllfm m'g nines.

MARK W. HARRIS, OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA.

FIRE-noon.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 30, 1914.

Application filed Marcli21, 1913. Serial No. 755,963.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, MARK W. IIARRIS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county ofMuscogee and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Fire-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fire-doors, for use in connection withfurnaces of all kinds, the fire-door hereinafter described beingespecially designed for use upon the furnaces of locomotive boilers, inorder to enable the door to be easily opened and closed for each shovelof fuel fed to the furnace, thereby rendering it possible to maintainthe steam pressure of the boiler, which, as is well understood, isinterfered with seriously when the fuel door is allowed to remain openfor any considerable period of time.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fuel door whichembodies the ut-.

most simplicity of construction and operation, which may be produced ata comparatively low original cost, which may be maintained in operativecondition at a minimum expense, the door being constructed in suchmanner and combined with such operative mechanism that it may beoperated by downward pressure of the foot of the stoker, the doorautomatically returning to its closed position without any attentionwhatever on the part of the stoker.

lVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will behereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and pointed out in the claim hereunto appended.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a front elevation of the fire-door of thisinvention shown closed. Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the door open.Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof, showing the foo-t controlled dooroperating mechanism. Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken centrallythrough the door and its frame. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section takenthrough the lintel.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the front wall of a furnace, thesame being provided witha fuel door opening 2, which may be of anydesired size and shape. Arranged at opposite sides of the fuel door andfastened to the outer face of the wall of the furnace are verticallyextending parallel guides 3 having secured to their inner faces parallelguiding strips 1, between which the opposite vertical edges of the fueldoor slide. Between the inner set of guiding strips and the front faceof the furnace wall, facing segments 6 are inserted, so as to form aconvenient bearing for the inner side of the fuel door 5, therebyeffectively excluding chilling blasts.

lhe door 5, in the preferred embodiment of this invention, consists of afront plate, and a back plate, as shown, said plates be ing spaced apartto leave an intervening air circulating space, and the front and ackplates of the door being fixedly connected together by an interposedbatten 7. Connected pivotally to the top of the door, at the point 8, isan upwardly extending pivotal and swinging link 9, the upper extremityof which is pivotally connected, at 10, to the inwardly extending arm 11of a two-- arm lever, the outer arm 12 of which has attached to itsextremity a door counterbalancing weight 13. The two-armed lever, whichconstitutes a door counterbalancing lever, is fulcrumed, at 14, ona'post 15 ex tending upwardly from one of the guides, above described.

The oppositely arranged guides are connected at a point above the dooropening by means of a lintel 16 which forms a support for the fulcrumpin or bolt 17 of a transmission lever 18, the same being centrallyfulcrumed on said bolt, as shown. Pivotally connected to one arm of saidtransmission lever is a link 19 which extends I extends upwardly fromthe floor of the cab or room in which the fuel door is mounted. Arrangedbeneath the door 5 is a door sill 28 having an inclined and downwardlysloping inner face 29, which is arranged in spaced relation to the frontwall of the furnace, so that any particles of coal or ashes which mayfall upon the sill will be carried, by gravity, down the sloping innerface of said sill, thereby keeping the upper surface of the sill clearof such obstructing material, and insuring the proper closing of thedoor, preventing any draft from passing under the bottom edge of thedoor, through the door opening and into the furnace.

In operation, the fireman needs only to press downwardly on, theprojecting end of the foot lever, whereupon the door Which is nicelyconnterbalaneed is moved upwardly, allowing a shovel of coal to bethrown into the furnace. is soon as the foot lever is released, the doorautomatically closes by reason of a preponderanre oi. weight over thatat the outer extremity of the counterbalanoing lever. On account of thesiniplioity of the construction involved, there is very little liabilitof the operating mechanism getting out of order, but in such acontingency, the necessary adjustment or repair may be easily effectedby the engineer or fireman in a short space of time, which will precludea chilling oi the fire and consequent reduction in the steam pres sure.

What is claimed is:

In, a fire door structure, the combination with the front wall of a firebox, of parallel vertical guides fastened thereto at opposite sides ofthe fuel door opening, a lintel rigidly connecting said guides above thefuel door opening, a door slidable vertically between said lintel andthe front wall. of the tire box, a weighted door counterbalanoing levereonnerted at one end with the door, a foot controlled lever arranged atone side of the door frame, and a transmission lever iulcruinedcentrally of the door hotel and omineoted at one end with the foot leverand at the other end with the door oounterbalancing lever,

In testimony whereof I attii; my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MARK VJ. HARRIS.

Vi itnesses JAMns A. POWELL, WILLIAM A. KLINE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

